A group of Nexus-6 Replicants has escaped to Earth in 2019. They only have four year lifespans, but Blade Runner Richard Decker (Harrison Ford) has been brought back to bring them in by his former supervisor Bryant (M. Emment Walsh). Decker learns the Tyrell Corporations newest models are almost unidentifiable by the Voight-Kampff test and now Dekker finds himself involved with Replicant named Rachel (Sean Young) as he tries to hunt down the dangerous androids.

My pleasure is your pleasure

Blade Runner is classic sci-fi. Ridley Scott’s vision of the future is still clean, crisp, and dark. Scott has tinkered with his classic multiple times and many versions of the film are available (the best is the whopping five disc Blu-Ray edition with multiple versions of the film). Adapted from Phillip K. Dick’s short novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the movie just takes some of the basic themes of the book, but really scraps most of the plot (including the main thrust of the novel as hinted by the title that almost all animal life, except humans, has been wiped out). Blade Runner’s dystopia kind of set the standards for other films with a dirty gritty future.

All these moments will be lost in time…like tears in rain…time to die

It isn’t just the setting, but strong acting and interesting characters that fill the world. Gaff (Edward James Olmos) and his mysterious ties to Decker and his past, the final Replicants Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) and Pris (Daryl Hannah), and the Replicant creator J. F. Sebastian (William Sanderson) all help create the strange, noire world in the movie.

The final scenes involving Decker, Pris, and Batty are so perfectly shot and arranged, plus the script is perfect for these scenes. It seems wrong to hunt the Replicants despite some possibly violent tendencies.

Much of the fun of the movie is also trying to figure out Decker himself. Debate (and Ridley refuses to answer) over if Decker is a Replicant himself, is one of the primary questions in the film. All hands point to yes, but a clear answer is never given. Decker might be one of the things he is hunting…It can explain his skill at it. Hints throughout the movie have become the clues to fanboys all over the world. The book, is much more clear and it is obvious that Decker isn’t a Replicant, but in the movie all evidence points that he is.

The FX of Blade Runner still stand up to movies being made now. Its pre-computer animation looks much more real than movies now. There are a few points where the movie does falter, but compared to sci-fi movies of the time, it is minimal.

Stylish & Sci-Fi at the same time!

Ridley Scott still has interest in making a sequel and currently is attached to direct. Though it might be nice to revisit the world, the idea of hurting a classic could a threat (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a great example). Blade Runner’s influence over sci-fi has been amazing but it still can hold itself high above most.

Follow me on Twitter @JPRoscoe76! Loves all things pop-culture especially if it has a bit of a counter-culture twist. Plays video games (basically from the start when a neighbor brought home an Atari 2600), comic loving (for almost 30 years), and a true critic of movies. Enjoys the art house but also isn't afraid to let in one or two popular movies at the same time.